CenaLita: Wonderland
by Les Missedyercalls
Summary: John leaned in again and kissed me, telling me before we moved on, "If you feel any kind of pain at all, or if I'm getting too heated, just tell me to stop before it gets out of control. I mean it, Lita, no waiting until the last second, no matter what."
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**: This story is from the already-finished series of recent works that will be posted chapter-by-chapter. This story is based on one of my own original works that I've converted into a wrestling fanfic. The original work this story is based off of has done very well with readers, so I'm curious to see how well this one will do in Fanfiction format with FF readers.

It is rated Mature for graphic content, including violence, language and sexuality.

I don't claim to own any rights to WWE or its affiliates. This story is for entertainment purposes only.

1:

When I was a little girl, I watched my father die.

My mother killed him while on a crack high.

When the police asked her why she did it, she simply replied with slurred speech while she held an unlit cigarette in one hand and failed to fix her sweat ridden tank top that had moved to one side and was exposing her sagging left breast for all to see, "He was going to tell everyone that I am a lesbian. I'm _not_ a lesbian!"

She was still screaming mercilessly when they dragged her to the police car in handcuffs. The bottoms of her feet were black from trying to shove dirt in the older officer's face while he tried to keep her from hurting herself. Only when she was locked in the backseat did she bother to look out the back window to see me standing on the porch in my blue floral nightgown, holding teddy and crying my eyes out because two very large and scary men dressed in blue were forcefully taking my mother away.

I could see her mouthing the word, "Don't," and I knew she was trying to communicate to me not to tell the officers anything. The older officer came back and reached out his giant, calloused hand for me to take, saying with a big smile and soothing blue eyes, "Come on, young lady. Let's get you to a place where you'll be safe."

Turning my head to one side, I considered running back into my house and hiding underneath my bed until the strangers left, but when I gazed at the living room just beyond the front door, I could see the walls were painted with red blood and a gel like substance that I would later realize was brain matter. Then I remembered that my father's body was still on the floor. He would've looked like he were sleeping if it weren't for the hole in his neck where the bullet went through. I wanted nothing more than to escape, and these strangers were the only ones willing to take me away.

I reached out and took the officer's hand, and I took one last look at my mother in the police car. She was shaking her head and looking at me with overwhelming disappointment. I had betrayed her by taking the hand of the law. I wasn't her daughter, anymore.

* * *

"Lita, please come with me. Your foster parents are here."

Mrs. Chin smiled warmly and her almond eyes crinkled as she motioned with the file folder in her hand for me to follow her. She looked petite and pretty in her crimson business suit, much too studious for an adoption agency, in my opinion. She walked with a sense of confidence and she was so kind, I had my suspicions that she was actually a lawyer or a doctor and this was just some kind of community work that she did on the side to help people less fortunate.

_People like me._

I walked with my head down. I wore a stained gray t-shirt and a pair of tattered jeans and my shoes had a dozen holes in them. My broken red backpack with my teddy and a discarded romance novel I've read forty times and still didn't know the title of were all that I carried with me. My strong but delicate features, passed down to me by my imprisoned mother, could be easily hidden behind my mane of long, straight red hair. I would have probably looked hot in the 70's, but in today's world, I was pale, formless, and boring. Maybe some part of me wanted it that way. If I didn't like my new foster parents, I could easily escape.

Mrs. Chin opened the Cherry colored Oak door to her office and stepped aside to guide me in. I felt an instant tightening in my chest. I hated when people expected me to walk through, first. The first guy always dies in the movies. _Why would I want to be first?_

I walked slowly past her, and I met eyes with a couple who stood when I entered the room. They were similar to the fairytale perfect parents, the wife being a giver, holding her arms out to hug me even though she had never met me before, her eyes showing signs of crow's feet, her dark hair tied back in a ladies' bun, her soft brown eyes taking me in like I was really something to be inspired by. The husband was the tall, lean, handsome fatherly type, one of those guys you see working a dream job during the week, golfing with his buddies on the side, but always finding time for his kids, whether they're his or a bunch of foster teenagers who haven't been adopted and need a home until they're old enough to move out, such as in my case. His eyes were green, friendly, and he seemed legitimately happy to see me. How quaint.

"Lita, this is Stephanie and Paul McMahon. They will be taking you to your new home," Mrs. Chin stated the obvious.

* * *

The drive to the McMahon Getaway was longer than I expected. I told them I wasn't hungry when we left the agency, but my stomach grumbled under my t-shirt and I cursed myself for lying. Paul, who told me when we got into the car that he would rather be called by his middle name, Paul, was trying to give me what he believed was information vital to making my stay pleasant at their country home. It was like being given a list of formalities for a fancy hotel.

"There's a shed out in back, but no one is allowed in there. It's usually locked, but if it's opened for any reason, please come and see me immediately."

Why? Are there bodies of the other foster children in there?

I wanted to say it, but I didn't. Paul...sorry, _Paul_...did not seem like the kind of guy that likes sarcasm.

"Your room will be upstairs. There's a boy's room to the right on the first flight of steps, and there will be a separate girl's room to the left. You will have the room at the top of the stairs all to yourself for now, unless we find another straggler."

Stephanie reached over and patted her husband's shoulder, scolding him kindly, "Paul, don't make the girl feel unwanted."

He chuckled. Like neglecting a teenage girl is somehow funny. I just stared out the window at the miles of nothing all around us. Kentucky's backdrop was obviously not the scenic route.

"I'm just teasing. We really love all of our stragglers, and we're hoping you'll be a part of our team," Paul smiled at me with his eyes from the rear view mirror while he spoke, his terms sounding more like a basketball game plan than a family.

He suddenly turned off down a dirt road I hadn't even noticed was there, and another awkwardly silent minute later, we pulled up to a decent looking faded yellow house with white trim. There was an old wooden fence out in front that needed some work, and a mailbox threatening to fall off of its post, but no black lab coming up to greet me and no tire swing like the good stories describe.

Just a teenage kid sitting in an old rocking chair by the porch with short black spiked hair and the meanest dirty look I've ever seen in my life.

Paul opened the door for me, and Stephanie pointed at the boy and explained to me as soon as I stepped out, "Lita, this is Phillip, but he prefers to be called Punk. He's very weary of people so please let him have his space."

I heard what Stephanie said, but I guess it didn't really register, because automatically, I stepped up closer to Punk and reached out to shake his hand, mumbling shyly, "Hi."

He jerked away from me and sprinted to his feet so fast, I barely had time to get out of the way as he threw his arms out in front of him to shoo me off and shouted angrily, "Don't touch me! Don't fucking touch me!"

Paul put his own arms out and replied calmly, "Punk, there's no reason to be upset. Lita doesn't know your limits yet."

Stephanie took my shoulders into her long-fingered hands and squeezed them sympathetically. I felt like I had just committed a crime before I had even stepped inside. Guess Paul was going to have to dump me in the reject pile with the other kids in his special shed out back.

"Punk, sit down," Paul spoke like a coach, sternly but not forcefully.

He did sit down again, but Punk glared at me before he returned his gaze to the grassy front yard and he didn't look up again. Paul brushed the situation off easily and acted as though nothing had happened, gesturing me to follow him as he said happily, "Let's meet the others."

_Oh yeah. I'm so excited to do that after what just happened._

Stephanie tenderly pushed me toward the front door. It was also red, but painted, not the fancy Oak like at the agency. The door had a glass middle with a diamond shape in it. I admired it until I realized that Paul had opened the door and stepped aside to wait for me to walk through. _I seriously hate being first._

I walked quietly past Paul, and I immediately picked up on the laughter of teenage girls. I peeked around the right corner opposite of a living room with a couch and a television on the left and I saw a brightly lit kitchen with a wooden dining set occupied by two girls about my age in tank tops and jeans. One of them had long black hair that went down to her hips, and when she turned to face me, she had captivatingly dark eyes that contrasted perfectly against her white porcelain skin. The other girl next to her had more olive colored skin, long brown hair that went down to her elbows, and she had a pair of big brown eyes that complimented her small lips. She was not as pretty as the black-haired girl, but the brown-haired one looked like one of those young street hookers I would see on reality shows, and her demeanor made me wonder if she were really as innocent as she looked.

"Lita, that's Nikki and Layla," Stephanie pointed at the black-haired girl first, then the brown-haired girl.

"Hello, Lita!" Nikki and Layla both spoke and waved in unison.

I said, "Hi," back and looked away. I had the distinct feeling these girls were bound to get me into trouble.

"Let's go upstairs and meet the boys," Stephanie gently urged me on.

Paul walked upstairs first, this time not moving aside to let me in when he got to the door on the right. Instead, he turned to me before opening the door and explained, "Now we've got ground rules for everyone in this house. Schedules for shower times and bedroom checks are done routinely. Boys and girls stay in their own beds, and take individual showers at separate times."

He was still using his coaching voice, making it sound like he wanted me to be inspired to be a good little girl. Paul went on with less seriousness, "Now Daniel is the youngest of our group. He has the dirty blond and he needs to be shown consideration because he does suffer from a learning disability and he is not to be left alone."

I noted Daniel's learning problem and Paul went on, "Ziggler is our athlete. He usually has after school activities and he spends a lot of time on the field or in the gym, so you won't be seeing him much. He has the short, platinum blond hair."

Stephanie leaned in and whispered sweetly into my ear, "Ziggie's a bit of a ladies' man. We love him dearly, but please don't get caught in his charismatic trap."

I nodded and Paul continued, "John is our blue-eyed mystery man. He doesn't speak much and he doesn't like to be bothered, but he will show you around school when you start on Monday, and you can stay near him and he will be a great friend to you."

When Paul spoke about John, he wordlessly told me with his eye movements that this John kid would be my best bet for a buddy in this house. I made another mental note, and Stephanie finished Paul's descriptions with, "Last but not least, we have Randy. He lives in the closet of the boys' room. He doesn't show his face but uses sock puppets to communicate. It's a little nerve wracking at first, but you'll get used to it."

She squeezed my shoulders again to reassure me. I mustered a slight smile and Paul and Stephanie both took it as a sign that I was delighted to hear about the boy with the learning problem, the athletic jerk, the enigma boy, and the sock puppet master. I let them believe that and Paul opened the door, but he went in first instead of stepping aside for me, and said something to the effect of, "Lita is here."

I stepped in and took a quick look around the room. There were guy things everywhere. Posters of metal bands, a computer buried under boxers and text books in one corner, three beds lining every square inch against the walls, a half-open window with racing striped curtains, and a turtle on the floor that wasn't moving, so I couldn't tell if it were dead or alive. As for the guys, Ziggler, the athlete, was on the bed nearest to the door, wearing a jersey and a pair of athletic shorts and picking at a foam basketball. He smiled at me deviously when I entered. He was handsome, but definitely not my type. Daniel was nearest to the window and parallel to Ziggler on the opposite side of the room. He sported glasses and he was holding up a Science text book like he had been reading it just before we came in. He was the geeky type, but he smiled broadly when I came in. At least I had one reponse that wasn't shrouded in alterior motive.

I saw John last. He wasn't looking at me. There was a ray of sunlight coming in through the window and it was falling right against his baby blue eyes. He was really handsome in the light, but his interest was on a notebook he was writing in, and he looked like the type who had no idea he was so good looking. He had some muscle frame on him, not as obvious as Ziggler's but decent enough, and I knew instantly that I would like him because he was basically ignoring me.

Stephanie eased me toward a wooden task chair next to the computer desk and I sat down into it, then she said kindly, "Just wait right here, and we'll set up your room for you."

Paul added before they left me alone with the guys, "We're so glad to have you here, Lita. I hope you can see this house as your home from now on."

I was seventeen. It would only be my home for about two more years if I lasted that long.

Once the door was closed again, I felt the tightness in my chest again. I always felt it when I was nervous, or when I would probably have to talk to other people, which in this case, was bound to happen, especially with Ziggler still staring at me like I was fresh meat.

"So did Steph and Paul tell you to stay away from me?" Ziggler sat up and looked at me more intensely, gaging my reaction.

I glanced at him once and looked away, replying, "Yeah, I guess they did."

My usually husky voice sounded timid and faulty. I hated being put on the spot.

Ziggler kind of breathed and clicked his tongue instead of laughed, then he said, "They're right, you know. I am a player, but I'm not so bad."

I saw John shift on his bed out of the corner of my eye. I wondered if he disagreed with Ziggler's statement.

Daniel repeated and added with simple minded ease, "Yeah, Ziggie's not so bad, he's just a professional."

Ziggler half-smiled and opened his mouth to say something, then I heard the closet door open a couple of feet behind me. I turned to face it, and I saw a sock pop out with two big google eyes and pair of floppy leather straps that resembled ears on the side. It looked like a dog's face, and the hand underneath it made it move so that it looked discouragingly at John. I bit my lower lip to stifle my laughter.

"It's not done yet, Randy," John responded to an unspoken question, and the hand curved inward and changed the puppet from discouraged to more furious, then it flew back into the closet and the door slammed loudly.

I looked back at John, and he was now looking up from his notebook, but he wasn't looking at me. He was focused on the closet as he added, "Say hi to Lita, Randy."

The door rushed open again quickly, and the puppy dog sock popped out and nodded a quick and stern hello before disappearing behind the door again, and another defiant slam took place. I wasn't sure if the slam was for me or out of frustration for something that had been going on since before I got there.

The bedroom door opened only seconds later, but it wasn't Stephanie and Paul coming back for me like I had hoped. Nikki and Layla sauntered their way in, and I noticed a very obvious flirtatious visual exchange between Nikki and Ziggler as he asked her thickly, "You here for me?"

She snorted and replied, "No, we're here for the new girl, obviously."

Ziggler pretended to look upset, but he was still smiling. Nikki focused her attention on me and asked an odd question, "So how come your ears aren't pierced?"

Out of instinct, I reached up to touch my earlobes, answering awkwardly, "Uh...I don't know...I guess I just never got them done."

I could feel everyone in the room watching me, even John. It was like they were waiting for me to jump up and run away from Nikki before she lunged at me and tore me to shreds. A short sigh escaped Nikki's lips, and she said with a twinge of cruelty in her voice, "What kind of a girl are you?"

My cheeks started to feel hot, so I looked away. Nikki laughed suddenly and reached forward to nudge me in the shoulder, saying, "Relax, I was just kidding. I have a lot of jewelry and I love it. Maybe I'll let you borrow some clip on earrings or something."

"I don't really like jewelry that much," I said, and instantly regretted it.

Nikki's face flickered with anger for half a second, then she was calm again. She answered simply, "You try my stuff for a couple of weeks, and you'll love jewelry as much as I do. I guarantee it."

I didn't want to ask her what would happen if I still didn't like jewelry after her free trial.

* * *

That night, it was hard to sleep in my new bed. There was a little waterfall setup in my new room, and the walls were a soft pink but not too horrible, complete with a large window and a good sized bed. Everything was fresh and new, and I even had my own little workstation and a lamp to use while I read my beat up romance novel. Still, I didn't really feel at home. All the years of moving from foster home to foster home had given me no security at all. I doubted I would be here long enough to reap the benefits before it was all taken from me, again.

I sat up after rolling around for several hours in the darkness and walked over to my window. I played with the latch and found that it opened vertically, which made the sound quieter so I could get my fresh air in peace. I leaned forward and breathed in the deep scent of the cool night air, then I stayed there a while and enjoyed the darkness before I observed the night view from my window lookout.

There wasn't much to see in the dark. I was facing the backyard, and I could see the shed easily, as well as a giant tree that had probably been there since before the house was built. I observed the tree a little longer, and then a spark like a flame lit itself at its base, and in the moment of light, I realized it was John standing beside the tree, and he had a cigarette in his mouth.

At first, I thought he was just lighting the cigarette to take a drag where Stephanie and Paul wouldn't catch him, but while he smoked, I noticed the light on his hand didn't disappear, and he began moving his palm around and waving the small flame in different directions with fascination in his eyes.

The flame seemed to be too strong to be coming from a lighter, and if it were a match, it would've gone out in a short time, but John continued to move it around and play with the flame as if it were coming from a consistent source. I narrowed my eyes and looked more closely, curious as to what he had in his hand that could create such a strong and resilient flame. John turned his back to me, unaware that I was watching him, and I caught sight of exactly where the flame was coming from.

It wasn't a lighter, or any other man made or natural device. The flame was being produced and coming from John's own bare hand.


	2. Chapter 2

2:

I ate breakfast like it was my last meal while John sat across from me and ate his own cereal like he didn't have a care in the world.

My eyes were drooping because I had barely slept the night before. I couldn't stop thinking about what I had seen. Was it all just a dream? No way. I had watched John for nearly two hours. He didn't have a match, or a lighter, or some special device. I saw the flame coming from his hand.

The flame had changed color from a yellowish red to a light blue, and back to a yellowish red. John's face never showed concern the whole time, like it was easy to keep the flame going. He even put his other palm over the flame for several minutes with total ease, like what he was doing was completely natural. I know what I saw. It was real. It was somehow very real.

I was so lost in thought, I nearly jumped out of my seat when I heard Nikki's voice from behind me say, "We should do a makeover on you."

Turning around to face her, I asked with a sense of shock, "What?"

John hadn't looked at me once all morning. Now he, Ziggler and Daniel were suddenly very interested in the unfolding drama.

Nikki half-smiled at me and replied, "I think we should cut your hair. Maybe do some highlights or something."

Layla appeared from behind Nikki like some sort of Ghost of Freakish Past, pointing at me as she added excitedly, "We should spike her hair too!"

Nikki nodded and went on, "Oh, and we should dye your hair some other color."

I argued before they could add something more, "I'm allergic to dye."

Nikki and Layla fell silent, both of them staring at me like I had popped all of their thought balloons. Nikki quickly rebounded, placing her hands on her hips and stating coldly, "You should really take more risks, Lita. It's unappealing to everyone to think of you as some goody two-shoes."

Layla snorted and failed to stifle her laughter. Nikki turned on her heel and walked out, and Layla quickly followed after her like a puppy dog waiting for a treat. I turned back to my meal and tried to stuff myself with food so I wouldn't have to comment on what had just happened. Ziggler spoke up first, breaking the awkward silence in the room with, "I'm going to see a movie today. Anyone is invited to come."

I glanced over at him, and he was eying me with a gaze worthy of a porn star. He probably thought he could get me alone and grope me in a dark theater and I wouldn't be able to get away from him easily. Still, I loved the movies, but it was so rare that I had the chance to go, I had forgotten the last movie I saw.

"I'll go, I guess," I said.

Daniel clapped his hands and added with excitement, "I want to go too!"

"You too, John?" Ziggy asked, his tone sounding more like he was hoping for John to decline.

"Sure, I'll go," John said, and Ziggler's grin fell flat.

* * *

"We're going to see this movie," Ziggler pointed at the poster of a man with some weapon surrounded by flames and went on, "about a serial killer that burns his victims alive!"

He bobbed his head when he laughed. He looked like one of those big headed toys that people put on their dashboards.

Thinking of fire brought back the memories of what I had seen the night before. I quickly glanced at John, hoping he didn't notice my sudden discomfort, but I looked away just as fast when I realized he was looking right back at me. Ziggler turned away to walk in the door to get our tickets, but John stopped him when he said, "Daniel and I are going to see the other movie."

This town had a small theater, and there were only two screens. The first was the murderous violent film Ziggler was gunning for, but the other poster showed a group of computerized animals and the rating indicated that it was suitable for kids and young teenagers. Ziggler didn't bother to say anything, but waved his hand at John and started in the door again. John turned to me and asked before Ziggler was out of hearing range, "Lita, would you like to come with Daniel and I?"

I was totally shocked. John was talking to me. The boy that can make fire with his bare hands was talking to me.

"What? You can't ask her that! She already said she would go with me!" Ziggler snapped, storming back towards us.

Caught in the moment, I made a split decision, answering quickly, "I think I'll go with John and Daniel this time."

Ziggler stopped in his tracks and remained still, glaring at me for a few seconds before he sighed and rolled his eyes, saying as he walked away again, "Fine. Do whatever you want."

I sat between Daniel and John and held the whopping tub of popcorn that Daniel had insisted on buying while we watched the film. I was glad that I not only got out of seeing a violent film, which I was never a fan of anyway, but I had escaped the horror of sitting through a movie with Ziggler trying to hit on me the whole time. The guy had barely met me and he already thought his mission statement was to find a way to remove my pants.

Daniel leaned ahead to immerse himself in the movie, which was easy to do since we were the only people there and that meant no huge heads to peek over and no loudmouths to silence. I kept my attention on the movie as well, looking away only when I heard John lean over and whisper to me, "So you don't like fire, huh?"

I tried to hide my panic, but I still sounded shrill as I asked, "What?"

John remained unreadable but kind, explaining, "You looked at that poster of the other movie and you got really upset. I just assumed you didn't like fire or something."

I brought my attention back to the screen, replying simply, "It wasn't the fire. I just don't like scary movies."

"Oh. Right," John said, acting as thought I didn't want to keep talking.

I focused my attention back on him and asked, "Are Ziggler and Nikki together?"

John shook his head, answering quietly, "No, it's just a physical thing between them."

"Ew," I remarked, prompting John to laugh out loud.

He had a nice laugh. Daniel turned to look at us with confusion, asking John, "Why are you laughing? It's not the funny part yet."

"Sorry," John said, and Daniel returned his eyes to the screen, waiting for the right moment to express hilarity.

I looked at John and smiled, but he was watching the movie, so I did the same. He really didn't seem like a bad guy. Still, I wanted to get to the bottom of the fire thing as soon as possible.

* * *

I hoped that John would go outside again that night. I waited in my bed, listening for him, but I was so tired, I fell asleep at some point without realizing it. I woke up with a start and found myself shrouded in darkness, then I turned to look over at my bedroom window and saw the silhouette of a male figure there.

Sitting up, I opened my mouth to cry out, but the figure stepped into the moonlight and I realized it was John. He put his hands out and said quickly, "It's just me. Please don't scream."

I considered calling out anyway, but then I decided against it, asking him curiously, "What are you doing in my room?"

He let his hands drop and explained kindly, "I uh...I used to come up here and hang out when it was being used as a storage room. Stephanie and Paul remodeled it just a month ago to make room for you, but I can't help wanting to come up here out of habit. It makes me feel safe."

"Oh," I answered, and the subject dropped off.

John looked out the window for a second, then he turned back to me and said, "I didn't really notice until now how well you can see the tree in the backyard from up here."

He seemed to be prompting me to respond. I felt my heart skip several beats. I shrugged and answered, "I haven't looked around much."

John remained undaunted by my fake innocence, asking me outright, "Did you happen to see me last night, Lita?"

I tried my best to play it off, shaking my head and answering, "No, I went to sleep early."

He smiled a little and replied, "You're a bad liar. No orphan sleeps on their first night in a strange new place that everyone keeps telling them is home."

I didn't know what to say. I was caught, and I didn't know what John was going to do about that. Suddenly, there was a knock at my bedroom door. John looked at me with widened eyes and whispered, "Don't tell anyone I'm here."

I nodded, and he opened my closet door and rushed inside of it, closing himself up before I called to the person in waiting, "Come in."

Nikki pushed the door open and walked into my room like it had already long since been claimed by her. She sat down at the edge of my bed without being asked to do so and asked strongly, "Are you excited for school tomorrow?"

I had completely forgotten that tomorrow was Monday morning. I shrugged and answered, "I guess so."

Nikki ignored my lack of enthusiasm and replied, "Great. We're going to hang out and you can meet my friends and it'll be awesome..."

I don't know why I said it, but I blurted out, "Stephanie and Paul said John would be showing me around on my first day."

Nikki stopped short and stared at me blankly again, making me feel like my entire being could be squashed like a bug if she willed it. She composed herself and said shortly, "You don't want to be around John. He has no friends and he's a total outcast."

I knew she was trying to get me to turn against him and what I had been told by my foster parents, but I stated again, "Steph and Paul told me to go with John."

Nikki sighed and flipped her hair back like it was no big deal, saying rudely, "Fine, but don't come to me when you don't have anyone to hang out with."

She got up and left the room without another word. I waited for John to come out again, and he did, but with much less energy than he had shown before. Nikki's words had obviously hurt him. He told me quietly, "We'll talk later," then he made his way out of the room and left me alone.

* * *

School was uneventful. I had to stand up in the front of every class and introduce myself, and I had to tell my fellow half-awake students what I liked to do with my spare time and where I spent my summer. I always lied and said I spent my summers at the beach. It sounded way better than, _"I spent my summer in an orphanage with a shared bathroom and a limited amount of toilet paper."_

John showed me around like I hoped he would, but he was still very quiet and didn't say much during lunch unless Daniel asked him something. Nikki avoided me like the plague as my punishment for not joining her, and I easily discovered that she had a whole clan of Layla-like fools to follow her around wherever she went. Sadly, Nikki was right. John did not introduce me to anyone as his "friend," or "buddy," or anything remotely close to a level of relationship beyond a first name, but he was kind and he answered my questions, no matter how stupid they probably sounded to him.

The most exciting part of my day was a jock that wanted me to look at his strap. I politely declined.

We had to walk home after school. Ziggler, Nikki and Layla got into a truck and took off without us. I wasn't all that surprised. Daniel walked ahead of us and skipped and wandered and stared at the twigs and pebbles on the ground around him with the displaced focus of a child. I was beginning to like his simple mindedness. He was easy to be friends with.

John turned to me when Daniel was out of hearing range and asked with some aggravation in his voice, "So aren't you going to say anything?"

I was caught off guard. I hadn't realized he wanted me to speak. I asked my own question in defense, "What do you want me to say?"

He continued to act agitated, replying quickly, "Look, you don't have to act like it's not a big deal. If you're afraid of what you saw me do the other night, you can just say so."

I countered strongly, "I'm not scared of you!"

We both turned away from each other and looked at Daniel, but he was busily gathering dead leaves by the street corner. When we returned our eyes to one another again, John didn't look so upset, but asked more timidly, "You're not scared?"

I shrugged and replied, "No, I guess not. Unless you're going to cook me alive in my sleep or something."

He chuckled under his breath and said, "No, I wouldn't do that."

I became more intrigued, asking him while his guard was down, "So, is it some kind of a superhuman power or something?"

Shaking his head, John put his hands nervously into his pockets and answered, "No, I wouldn't call myself superhuman. I'm not a hero or anything."

"Are there others like you?"

John paused for several seconds and answered, "I don't know. If there are, I haven't met them or seen them yet."

"Well, if you're fire, maybe there's an ice somewhere."

"You watch too many movies," he surmised with a joking grin.

"Does anyone else know?"

"No. Just Randy, but since he only communicates with his puppets and he lives in the closet, I doubt he's going to rat me out."

I smiled when I thought of Randy trying to show with hand puppets how John can make fire with his bare hands. I glanced at John and I saw that he was observing my smile with a look of deep thought. I looked away and said quickly, "I won't rat you out either, in case you were wondering."

He just nodded and replied without hesitation, "I know you won't."


	3. Chapter 3

3:

"You don't have to look so innocent!" Nikki yelled at me like I was a dog that wouldn't sit still while being pampered.

We were out on the front lawn with Layla; the afternoon sun bearing down on us and making me tired. I wanted to be inside, away from the day and the happiness and the butterflies and most importantly Nikki, but she and Layla were on a mission to doll me up, for what reason I wasn't sure of yet.

"Sorry," I mumbled, letting Nikki pull at my shirt for the tenth time.

I thought about clocking her in the face, but I knew it would upset Stephanie and Paul. I had thought about a lot of things I wanted to do to Nikki that would upset Stephanie and Paul. She was lucky I cared about our foster parents enough not to inflict bodily harm.

Nikki flicked at my hair, her face still concerned. She had been working me for the last half hour, and still she had shown no sign that I was even remotely close to looking like what she had envisioned. I was beginning to think she was just torturing me for the fun of it.

"We're going camping this weekend, Lita. It's like, a family tradition, so I suggest you don't screw it up or say you can't come or anything," Nikki announced to me while she moved on to straightening my brawny shoulders.

I was surprised. No one had even mentioned camping yet. I had only been there for five days, but it would've been nice to have a heads up.

Nikki saw my surprise and misunderstood, bringing her palms to her hips as she asked with agitation, "What? Are you_ too good _to go camping?"

Her anger had a strange way of making me feel completely out of sorts. I struggled to counter, "No, it's not that, I...I've just...never been camping before."

Nikki scoffed loudly, answering, "Liar! Every foster parent camps! You've gone some time in your home-to-home travels!"

I absolutely hated it when someone told me things about myself like they knew more about me than I did. I argued vehemently, "I've never been camping, really! None of my foster parents took me!"

Nikki's brows went up like she was surprised that I would still deny what she believed was the truth. Thankfully, the sound of the mail truck coming up the dirt road made both Nikki and Layla forget about me.

I had discovered on Monday after coming home from school that our mailman was a very handsome built-like-a-wall behemoth with a charismatic smile. I stayed indoors when he came around, but I could see from the window that Nikki was always conveniently around when he delivered, and she was very good at flirtatious giggles and projecting her butt out so that it looked twice its normal size.

I thought about turning and walking back inside when he came up, but before I knew it, Nikki had grabbed me by the arm and she was dragging me over to the mailbox to greet the man coming up to it. He smiled broadly at Nikki and Layla, then he turned and looked at me, his brow furrowing like he was trying to recognize who I was, but his smile remained, like he liked what he saw.

Great. Another competition to make Nikki more furious with me.

"Hello, Roman," Nikki swooned, staring deeply into his blue eyes while she spoke.

Roman ran his big palm through his long black hair and chuckled uneasily, saying, "Hey, Nikki...and Layla. Who's your friend?"

He locked eyes with me pointedly again, and Nikki giggled lightly like she didn't notice his aversion to her, answering sweetly, "This is Lita, silly. She's our new sister."

I had to swallow not to bring up the contents of my stomach. Nikki and I..._sisters_. Ew.

"Cool. Nice to meet you, Lita," Roman reached out to shake my hand.

I nervously extended my own hand and let him shake it. He didn't let go, but took his other palm and covered my small hand with his two large ones, saying kindly, "Your hand is cold."

Nikki's flirtatious smile instantly faded, and she narrowed her eyes at me. I pulled my hand away from Roman's and said, "Oh yeah, I guess I should go inside."

I turned to walk away as Roman's voice called after me, "It was nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too," I answered, rushing into the house before Nikki could kill me with her furious dart-shooting glare.

I ran upstairs to John's room, knocking quickly and letting myself in before he had asked me to. I saw John sitting on his bed alone, and he looked up from a book he was reading when I entered. The closet door was open and Randy's orange kitty sock puppet was sticking out, its google eyes turning to face me with widened shock when I came in.

It was so weird how well the puppets could imitate real human expression.

"What's wrong?" John asked, concerned by my bombardment.

I was a little out of breath, and I tried to regain it as I explained, "Nikki was trying to give me a makeover. Then the mailman came and now she's mad because he thought my hands were cold."

John's eyebrows came together with confusion. I waved my hand at him and said, "Don't try to understand. Let's just say I don't want to be out there, anymore."

He calmed with understanding and replied, "Well you can stay here with Randy and me."

The kitty puppet nodded, so I sat down in Daniel's bed. The kitty puppet continued to stare at me blankly, so I finally asked, "Is something wrong, Randy?"

Kitty nodded, and John explained to me, "Randy feels bad for not being nice to you when you first came here. He really wants to get to know you better."

"Oh," I blushed, and the kitty puppet bowed at me with honor.

"Um...well, what do you want to know, Randy?" I asked.

The kitty puppet moved to the floor and settled as if it were ready to listen to anything I had to say, so I began, "Okay, uh...I like to draw."

Kitty nodded with approval, so I went on, "I don't like scary movies that much."

Randy's hand shuddered to imitate fear and understanding for my dislike, and the kitty puppet wiggled as well, making me laugh. I didn't look at John, but I knew he was listening to me as well. I added, "I don't know if I like Nikki yet. She gets on my nerves."

Kitty nodded with undeniable agreement, and I kept going, "I used to play the piano. I was pretty good at it, but I haven't tried in years."

Kitty swayed back and forth like a dancer, and I laughed again. This was way better than being with Nikki. Talking to a kitty puppet was so much easier than talking to a bitch.

* * *

Day one of the adoptive family camp out: I'm stuck in the backseat wedged between seven duffel bags and a cooler that still smells like the food that was in it the last time it was used.

Nikki and Layla were in the middle seat joking with Ziggler. Daniel and John were on the furthest side of the middle seat, keeping to themselves. Randy hadn't left the closet and Punk hadn't left his rocking chair on the front porch to go with us, and I felt some resentment for the fact that they got to stay behind after Nikki made such a big deal about how every foster kid goes camping and I had no right to stay home. Stephanie was in the passenger seat and Paul was at the wheel, both of them quiet except for the occasional look-back-and-smile move that all parents seemed to do during trips, as if us kids were somehow more adorable on wheels.

I somehow managed to pull myself out of the mess around me when we stopped in the forest that looked like any other forest, only to be grabbed by Nikki's powerful iron grip and pulled into the strange trees. I heard Stephanie's voice from behind us shout something like, "Don't go too far! We just need some firewood!"

Layla came in-line with Nikki, and within minutes, we were so deep in the forest, I was sure we were lost. I swallowed hard, thinking that if I had to survive, I would eat Nikki. That is, if she didn't try to kill me first.

Nikki let me go and my arm throbbed with the pain of letting her drag me. I had to get better about fighting back when she did that. I rubbed my arm for a second before Nikki and Layla both came at me with two large sticks. I thought they were going to hit me, so I held out my arms to defend myself, but then they slapped the sticks into my grasp and I realized they were planning on letting me carry the firewood back to our campsite.

_Gee, thanks for asking, girls. It's no problem, really._

Nikki began speaking in her usual habit of initiating conversation without being provoked to start one, "So while we're looking for lost treasures, how about I tell you about how we all ended up with Stephanie and Paul, Lita."

Her voice was indicative that this would not just be a letting on of information. I was going to have to do something to earn my right to retain it later. Sadly, no matter how much I didn't want to hear it because of my knowledge of the backlash, Nikki was going to tell me anyway.

"Let's see...oh, Randy's parents left him in front of an orphanage as a baby. He was even in this really fancy car. I mean, isn't it sad that your parents would want to get rid of you so badly, they would even leave the car?"

Nikki and Layla snickered together. I didn't find it funny at all.

"Oh yeah, and Daniel's parents died when he was still little. He doesn't remember them. Ziggler was the same way, but he remembers some stuff about his mom and dad."

"What about you, Layla?" I asked.

She turned to look at me, her eyes legitimately sad for the first time since I had known her. Then she quickly looked away and replied, "My mother was a drug addict. They took me away from her when I was still a baby. She's dead. Don't know my dad."

"Oh," I replied, not sure what to say.

Nikki ignored the emotion in the moment and immediately continued, "My parents were rich, but they had to give me up because they had me out of wedlock. I plan on finding them someday, maybe reuniting and living the life I should've had."

I didn't respond. Either Nikki was completely lying, or she would fit right in with the Anal Elite.

"Who am I missing?" Nikki asked, and Layla blurted out, "John!"

Nikki glanced at her with an expression like she was aware she had saved John for last, and I realized that something unspoken was going on. Layla quickly explained, "His parents died in like, a horrible fire. He's been with Stephanie and Paul the longest, I overheard them talking about it, and they said it was amazing he survived at all."

Layla picked up another large stick and added it to the pile gathering in my arms. She and Nikki continued to do so while I pondered what they had said about John's parents. Had he started the fire that killed them, or was it an outside force? Maybe it was an accident, like he was a baby and he couldn't help himself. I couldn't be sure, and I kept trying to come up with ideas until we made it back to the campsite where everyone was waiting for us.

Daniel had already made a place for me next to him, and I dropped the firewood in the center and sat down with him while John lit the fire with a large lighter and came to sit at my other side. Stephanie and Paul told us corny ghost stories that were so obviously watered down for Daniel's sake, then we separated with girls on one side and guys on the other to sleep.

I rolled around in my sleeping bag, but I was sure a gigantic rock was underneath me, because something kept poking my side no matter what position I was in. Nikki and Layla kept giggling nearby, whispering to each other just low enough so I couldn't hear, but loud enough to keep me awake. Finally, I climbed out of my bag and announced to them, "I'm going to pee."

Their laughter faded as I walked into the trees. The full moon gave enough light to keep me from losing my way, and after I had wandered for a short while, I turned to the right and saw a figure in the woods. At first, I became alert, then I heard John's voice say, "Hey."

I came over and sat down next to him, replying, "Hey. What are you doing out here?"

He shrugged, answering, "I don't really sleep well."

"Me, neither. Especially with The Nikki Twins giggling all night," I replied.

John chuckled, and it sounded nice in the quiet darkness. He lifted his hand, and produced a small flame from his palm that allowed me to see him much better. I stared at the flame and asked, "Does it hurt you?"

"No. I can feel the heat, but it flows just like warm water to me," he answered.

I looked at him and I realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt. His body definition was well muscled but moderately formed, not quite to Ziggler's bulginess, yet still very appealing. I asked him, "Why are you shirtless? It's cold out here."

He chuckled again and answered, "I'm always hotter on the inside."

"Really? Can I touch you?" I asked curiously.

He raised a brow and answered, "Okay, I guess."

I reached over and touched his bicep. It was really warm, but not bad. I replied quietly, "Cool."

"You mean hot, right?" John smiled.

I laughed. John went quiet and said, "Could I ask you something?"

"Okay," I answered.

He paused for a moment, then he asked, "What happened to your parents?"

I moved so fast, John was startled and the fire in his palm went out. It was pitch black and my eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden darkness as I turned to walk quickly away. John followed after me, asking in the dark, "Did I upset you? I'm sorry if I did...Lita?"

I stumbled on something solid and fell face down. John was just behind me and he lost his footing as well, coming down on top of me just as I had rolled over. I could feel his body weight against mine, his warmth a nice interruption from the constant cold, his breath blowing against my face. His lips were probably an inch from my own.

A part of me thought about kissing him on a whim, but it was squashed when panic began to set in as I thought about my parents, again. I struggled to release myself from underneath him, saying desperately, "Please let me get up! Please!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," John quickly moved away, then he helped me to my feet.

I turned on my heel and started running, and I didn't stop until I was back at the campsite. Nikki and Layla were not in their sleeping bags, but I didn't care. I rushed into mine and stayed there, curled up under the covers as I slammed my eyes shut and pushed every thought out of my mind, praying that I would fall asleep and forget about my parents.

_Sometimes, it felt easier just to forget they ever existed._


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: I made a few mistakes in previously posted chapters (Such as calling Paul "Hunter" without suggesting a reason in the story, although I'm sure you all know he's Paul/Hunter in wrestling, as well as a reviewer pointed out to me that I completely omitted Punk's character mention in Chapter 3, even though he is featured as the first character introduced to Lita in Chapter 1), so I've done some editing with all chapters and re-posted the new information. If you read this story before October 7, 2013, please go back and re-read from Chapter 1 to catch up on the corrections & additions I've made. Thanks!

4:

Nikki and Layla were eerily quiet the next morning, and even after we came home from camping, they made me think that something was up, but I was too distracted by John's sudden need to remain silent toward me as well, and I knew that I had probably freaked him out with my dramatic need to get away from him the other night.

_Wow. One week and I had managed to piss off at least half of my new family._

Monday came along, and I was glad to immerse myself in schoolwork. If the day had been for anyone else, it would've gone by without a problem. Since the day was going by with me, however, I was called to the office during first hour, much to the curiosity of my fellow students.

_Even better. One week and I had managed to make the rumor mill as a trouble maker for the majority of the student body._

I wandered into the office with my head down, trying to look innocent, but apparently that card had been played one too many times for the secretary at the desk, who frowned at me like a toad with clown makeup on. She stated absently, "You're needed at the counselor's office, room two."

_What? Counselor? So I was crazy now? This really was the best week ever._

I went in the direction the toad secretary's fat finger pointed, and I found room two easily, but the door was closed, so I knocked weakly, perhaps expecting to be sucked in and never heard from, again. The door opened and a fairly handsome looking blue eyed man smiled down at me. He looked like he should be the coach for a Little League team, or the golf buddy to privileged doctors and lawyers, not a high school counselor in a small town. He extended his palm for me to shake and said kindly, "Hello, Miss Lita. I'm Mr. Rhodes. Please, come in."

Mr. Rhodes. That sounded like the name of a serial killer. He was clean cut, maybe he was one of those last-guy-who-looks-like-a-killer-but-I-do types. I followed him into the room, anyway. If he killed me, maybe he could save me the trouble of being murdered by Nikki later on. I sat down and he sat down across from me, no desk, just the two of us, like we were buddies or something. I wanted to laugh at the cliché moves he was using to gain my trust. I had seen it too many times before to be fooled, yet I had to admit, the guy did look like a decent, slightly unshaven cool dude.

"I'm sorry that our first meeting has to be so shocking, Miss Lita, but there's a matter of your safety that has been brought to my attention and I had to speak with you as soon as possible."

"Safety? What's wrong with my safety?"

He put up his hands to calm me and replied, "No need for alarm, Miss Lita. You have done nothing wrong."

"Then what's going on?" I asked, becoming agitated.

Mr. Rhodes leaned in more seriously. I could smell his cologne. It was nice. He explained further, pausing at just the right moments like an actor delivering an outstanding performance for award purposes later, "Your foster sister, Miss Nikki, came to me this morning and told me that she witnessed something on your camping trip over the weekend that upset her deeply. Apparently, she had gone into the forest during the night to use the natural restroom when she caught sight of both you and another foster member, John, on the ground. She came to me believing that John had raped you after she saw you pushing him off of you and you ran away from him."

I couldn't believe it. Nikki was the master of evil. She had taken a harmless, slightly embarrassing situation and had turned it into a matter big enough to tear up families, even ones that weren't biologically based. I countered before Mr. Rhodes continued, shouting, "That's not what happened! He didn't hurt me at all! I tripped and fell and he accidentally fell on top of me, but he helped me up and apologized and I just ran away from him like a big jerk and Nikki wasn't even supposed to be out there!"

I was so rushed to empty my rebuttal, I was nearly in tears. Mr. Rhodes leaned in more closely and put his hand on my shoulder to calm me. _God, this guy was good_. He had me sobbing within five minutes of knowing him. I pushed down my feelings and tried to gather myself, saying more civilly, "Please, don't tell my parents or anyone else about this. John didn't do anything, and I would feel so guilty if people were to find out and blame him wrongfully."

Mr. Rhodes pressed his lips and nodded his head with consideration. It was like he was putting on a play. He probably knew the matter wasn't true, but he was hoping I would make that certain. He said more openly, "How about I don't tell your foster parents, and you come in and see me here once a week for a while, just to keep up on things and let me know how you're doing."

_Snagged_. That's what he wanted, a regular patient. Probably thought poor little traumatized foster girl needed a big strong counselor to make herself feel balanced. If it meant not getting John into trouble, I didn't care. I answered, "Fine, I'll do it, but you have to promise me you won't say anything to anyone."

He put up his hand and replied, "Scout's honor."

_Scouts? Whatever._

* * *

John was quiet again when we walked home. It felt awkward being near him after our last encounter ended with me running away from him, not to mention the weirdness of Mr. Rhodes just hours ago. Despite the tension between us, I wanted to tell John about what happened so he didn't have to find out about it at random, later. I waited until Daniel was playing ahead of us and out of hearing distance before I said, "John, I need to talk to you about something."

"Yeah?" he asked. It was good to hear his voice, again.

"I was sent to the school counselor today. He said that Nikki had come to him and told him she saw you and I near the campsite over the weekend, and you were on top of me on the ground. She told him you had raped me because I ran off."

John's eyes widened and a couple of sparks flew from his clenched fists as he shouted, "What?"

Daniel turned back to look at us. I waved at him, and he turned back to continue looking for specially shaped rocks on the ground. John lowered his voice but still spoke deliberately, saying, "I didn't do anything. What did you tell her?"

That made me mad. I instantly countered, "I didn't tell her anything, she just saw us and twisted it into her own little story of deception. She's just trying to get me back because I wouldn't hang out with her the first day of school."

John calmed down significantly and sighed a wordless apology, saying almost to himself, "That sounds like something Nikki would do."

I didn't comment, although I agreed completely.

"So how do we fix this? I told the counselor that I would continue to see him if he didn't tell Stephanie and Paul, but Nikki could blab to them anytime she wants," I remarked.

Nodding his head, John replied, "Don't worry about it. I've got a plan to make this problem go away for good."

"You're not going to kill Nikki, are you? Not that I would be sad, but there would be no saving my school reputation after that," I joked.

John chuckled under his breath and replied, "No, this will be a lot less messy."

* * *

I waited for the rest of the evening, wondering what John would do, but he showed no sign of hatching any kind of plan from what I could see. Dinner went by pleasantly, except for Nikki and Layla exchanging hushed whispers and awkward glances my way every five seconds. All of us kids went to the living room to watch a little TV while Stephanie and Paul went to bed. I was busy watching Daniel glued to the screen, debating on whether I should tell him to sit back so he didn't ruin his eyes when John suddenly asked, "Hey Nikki, I found this in the bathroom after you got out. Is it yours?"

He pulled out a thin black comb from his pocket and handed it to her. I was confused, because Nikki had long hair and that puny thing would only be good enough to smooth out her eyebrows. It also looked like a comb for men, which only made me more confused. Then I saw Ziggler's eyes widen and his face took on a more furious look, and I caught on to exactly what John was doing.

Nikki saw Ziggler's reaction out of the corner of her eye and immediately turned on John, shouting, "That's not mine! I don't even use those stupid little things!"

She scoffed with disgust and folded her arms to finalize the argument. John shrugged and put the comb back into his pocket, but the damage was done. Ziggler stared acidly at Nikki for the rest of the night until we all went our separate ways to bed, and I couldn't help smiling when Nikki and Layla scurried away before Ziggler could talk to either of them.

I got ready for bed and started upstairs when I saw the kitchen light from the hallway. I assumed someone had forgotten to turn it off and I went back to check. I glanced in the doorway and saw John by the kitchen table making a sandwich with his back turned to me, and I almost walked in to greet him, but Nikki rushed into the room from the other door and I coiled against the wall so neither of them saw me. Nikki stormed up to John and shouted, "What the hell are you thinking? You know that comb looks just like Dave Bautista's and Ziggler is going to be all jealous and make my life miserable now!"

I gathered that Dave was probably Nikki's ex-lover. John smirked and replied, "You think you didn't try to make my life miserable by telling the school counselor I'm a rapist?"

Nikki's eyes widened a little and she took a step back. She seemed to be shocked that John knew about the counselor's session. Leaning forward again, Nikki began acting more childish and innocent, saying in an empathetic tone, "I was just afraid for Lita. I want her to be safe."

John snorted enough to make Nikki blink pointedly before he returned, "You're not concerned, Nik. You're just so insecure that you'd rather make up a story out of nothing so you can ruffle Lita's feathers and she'll be so afraid of you, she won't ever get close enough to find out how defenseless you really are."

Nikki stared at him. John continued to work on his sandwich without remorse for what he had said. I was astonished. I had never even noticed that Nikki was so frightened until that moment. She continued to stare at him for several more seconds, then Nikki threw herself into John's arms, backing him up against the table before she plunged her hand down the front of his jeans.

I gasped, and John didn't hear me, but he still reacted the way I wanted him to. He grabbed Nikki's wrist and pulled her hand out from his jeans, then he backed away quickly, telling her deliberately, "Don't do that."

She acted lost, desperate, unsure. She fiddled with her fingers and looked at the floor, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, John. You know about me like no one else does. I want to do something to make up for what I said about you. Let me do something to you so you'll forgive me."

John shook his head and replied, "Nikki, I don't need you to do anything to me. You're forgiven, as long as you don't bring up the campsite story again. Got it?"

She nodded her head and turned to leave, then she looked back and mentioned timidly, "Ziggler told me about that thing you like. I could do it if you want."

John paused before getting back to his sandwich. I wondered if he were surprised that Nikki knew this "thing," or if he were considering actually being with her. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to run away or puke.

"You don't deserve to be used by anyone, Nikki. Go on to bed and forget about anything Ziggler told you about me, 'cause I'm sure it's wrong," John said.

Nikki stared at him for a little longer while he finished up his sandwich, then she walked out of the room. I carefully made my way back upstairs and to my room before Nikki or John saw me, and I drifted off to sleep with my heart a little lighter that John was going to be in the clear.

Still, a part of me was curious to know what it was that Nikki was referring to. Maybe John was right, and it was just one of Ziggler's devious lies. Either that, or John didn't want anyone to know.

_I knew one of his darkest secrets, so why not another?_


	5. Chapter 5

5:

Layla held up the wrapper and she and Nikki stared at it like it was something to worship. I sat across from them on Nikki's bed and kept my interest minimal.

"Oh my God, Nikki, where did you get this?" Layla managed to squeal even when she whispered.

"I stole it from Alex Riley," Nikki proclaimed, as if stealing from the Captain of the football team was really all that hard with his severely hindered attention span likely focused on her chest the whole time.

"Oh my God, oh my God," Layla kept saying, trying and failing to hide her emotion by covering her mouth.

Nikki pulled the tab on the side and the wrapper opened easily. She didn't touch what was inside, but it was already obvious enough. I looked at the thin rolled up condom and it vaguely reminded me of flattened bubble gum. I knew what a condom was, but the time had never come up for me to actually have to use one. I wasn't about to let Nikki and Layla know that.

"What are you going to do with it?" Layla asked, giggling uncontrollably.

Nikki smirked and gave me an odd look. I didn't know how to react because I wasn't sure what she was getting at. She looked back at Layla and said, "I think I'll use it with Ziggler tonight. We're planning to do it on John's bed."

I had to tense my entire body so I didn't puke by instinct. Nikki glanced at me again, and I knew she was testing me to see if I would go whining to John or not. I blocked out my initial sickness and replied, "That's not very interesting if you do it in the same room where you always do it. You should try something more freaky, like the kitchen table."

I couldn't believe what I had just said. Layla and Nikki apparently couldn't either, because they both stared at me like I was the sickest human being on the planet. Then Nikki burst into a fit of laughter and Layla asked her, "What? That wasn't so funny."

Nikki said through her fit, "Yeah it was...it was...great!"

Either she really thought it was funny, or she was hiding the fact that I had just one-upped her. Suddenly, the door burst open and Stephanie walked in with a big smile on her face and a plate of brownies in her hand. She asked excitedly, "Who wants dessert?"

Nikki had thrown the condom at me before Stephanie walked in, and when Steph's eyes gazed down at it in my lap, she froze and the color drained from her face. I sat there with my mouth hanging open, unable to get a good excuse out. Nikki quickly gathered herself and got up to reach for a brownie, saying innocently, "Hi, mom. We were just discussing protective sexual intercourse."

Stephanie blinked and looked at Nikki, then back at me. The color came back to her and Stephanie handed the plate to Nikki, then reached out to take my hand, saying, "Lita, why don't you come with me, dear?"

I shoved the condom into my pocket and Stephanie rushed me to a room downstairs that was set up to be Paul's office. It was covered with piles of paper, an old computer in the corner, and a desk being held up by several CDs and a beat up textbook. Stephanie closed the door and sat me down on the small task chair, then she put her hands on my shoulders and said to me seriously, "Lita, I'm glad that you're being safe, but you should know that Paul and I do not tolerate sexual gatherings in this house."

_Gatherings. Like I had joined a sex cult._

"Paul and I would prefer that all of you wait until marriage to...consummate relations, but we won't interfere with your personal choices on the matter. However, we ask that if you chose to perform the act itself, please do so in another environment."

_Environment? Like outdoors or behind a church? _I liked Stephanie, but she was making it sound like I was preparing to commit murder.

"We are also very strict about consequences. If you become ill, you will be responsible for your hospital bills. If you become pregnant, your child will have to be given up."

I was surprised. Stephanie and Hunter looked like the types who wanted to save the world's children, but they were willing to give a child back to the same fate they were saving their adopted children from. I didn't really know how to react, except to say, "I understand. I wasn't planning on doing anything, I just wondered what a condom looked like."

Stephanie lessened her grip on my shoulders and sighed heavily. Apparently my confession was enough to ease her troubled mind. Sadly, it didn't ease the trouble I was having over Nikki throwing me under the bus like she did.

* * *

School was quiet the next day. Nikki practically acted as though nothing had happened the day before, and she didn't even ask for the condom back, which I had put in the drawer by my bedside under a pile of notebooks and magazines in hopes that no one would see it. I was too afraid to throw it away, thinking that Ziggler would see it in the trash, pull it out and make a mockery of me. Or worse, Paul would find it and have the same "Sexual Gatherings" talk that Stephanie had with me.

I walked home from school with John and Daniel, a routine that I was beginning to look forward to. While Daniel stared at oddly shaped rocks and skipped his way to each corner, John and I had time to talk. I still wasn't sure whether I trusted him yet, but he was about the only person I agreed with on basically every subject.

This time, though, he dropped a bombshell on me when he asked, "So why were you caught with a condom?"

My eyes almost popped out of my head from the effort of shock as I shouted, "What? Who told you that!"

John shrugged and looked away, blushing a little. He explained more quietly, "Randy told me he overheard Stephanie giving you the sexual gatherings talk. We both assumed it was probably something Nikki did to get you into trouble."

_Randy and his damned puppets. I was going to have to run his googly eyed socks through the dryer on high heat._

"Well, Nikki stole a condom from Alex Riley and she and Layla were looking at it when Stephanie walked in, so Nikki threw it at me and Stephanie thought it was mine. It was just some stupid thing, I was more embarrassed than anything, I mean, I haven't even kissed a guy, let alone thought of doing the nasty with one..."

_I've said too much._

John looked at me with surprise and asked, "You've never kissed a guy?"

I swallowed. Then I stumbled on the sidewalk, and John reached out to catch me as he shouted, "Watch out!"

He pulled me back onto the sidewalk and let go of me only after I had taken a few steps to reassure him that I wasn't going ot stumble, again. I had no idea what to say. Now he knew my big stupid secret, that I was some virginal un-kissable loser. I was blushing so hard and I felt so awkward, I was totally relieved when John changed the subject by asking, "So you want to come to the Arcade with me tonight?"

"What?" I asked, always uncertain when someone was trying to ask me to do something nice with them because it happened so rarely.

"The Arcade. It's a place just downtown, a long walk from the house so I can't take Daniel, but if you want to go, we can go."

I smiled a little, and John beamed. I gathered myself and answered, "Okay, I'll go."

A truck zoomed around the corner from behind us, and I whirled around just in time to see a fellow student in the driver's seat casting both John and I a harsh glare as he drove carelessly all over the road. Thankfully this was a small town and no one was around, but I didn't feel safe on the sidewalk, either.

The guy drove off, his spiked blond hair and tanned muscular arms gleaming in the sunlight as he turned the corner and out of sight. I had seen the guy before, but I had forgotten his name. He seemed like a punk rocker wanna be type with a lawless complex. I snorted and asked John, "What was that all about?"

Ben sighed and answered, "That's Dean Ambrose. We used to be best friends, but then he tried to beat some guy to death and I stopped hanging out with him. He's been trying to get back at me ever since."

_Wow. I didn't know which was more shocking: a potential murderer in this town that wasn't related to Nikki in any way, or John having a best friend._

* * *

The Arcade was not as exciting for me as it was for John, but I got a kick out of watching him play. He was really good at almost every one of the dozen games they had, and he showed extra potential in the gun slinging and flame throwing games, not that I was surprised about the flames. It was good to spend a few hours away from Nikki and Layla. I was so enthralled with everything, I felt my internal balloon pop when John told me, "We should be getting back now."

We walked into the cool but quiet night, and I was surprised to find that John was in a much better mood than usual. He asked me, "So what do you like to do?"

"I don't know, I don't really like to do anything," I shrugged.

"Come on! We're not going to do what I want to do every week. Don't you like something? Taking photos? long walks on the beach? Laughing when fat people fall down?"

I couldn't help bursting into laughter. John retorted loudly, "Oh, so you do like watching fat people fall down!"

"Shut up, I do not!" I shouted, trying to punch him, but John stepped back away from me and nearly fell against the wall of an old abandoned diner by the street corner to laugh.

A figure grabbed John from behind so fast, I barely had time to process that a person was really there. Dean's blond hair stood out against the light of the street lamp, and his cold eyes drowned out all my confidence as he stared at me while he shoved John's head into the wall of the diner. John dropped to the ground and Dean focused solely on me.

He glared at me like I was not another human being but something to be silenced. I turned on my heel and broke out into a run. I had a great head start and I should've been able to get away, but somehow he caught up with me and grabbed me by my left shoulder, sending me sideways and into the paved street.

Some of the skin from my arm rubbed off on impact, making the exposed area burn like hell. I sat up and grabbed my arm for support, looking back just as Dean kicked me in the ribs. I cried out in pain and fell over again, wanting all of it to stop while knowing it had only just begun. Dean quickly moved back into my line of vision and prepared to kick me again, but a sudden burst of light from nearby came hurtling towards him. I saw Dean's feet fly out from underneath him as he was hurled through the air and made impact somewhere nearby.

John took me by my good arm and helped me up, asking urgently, "You okay?"

I could see some blood on his head, but the gash was coming from underneath his hairline and could be easily hidden. My wounds were more visible, and John began to inspect them as I answered, "I think I'm fine."

"Let's get out of here," he said, helping me to my feet.

I looked back for a second, but I didn't see Dean in the darkness. _If he were dead, it would be in the next day's newspaper. If he were alive, I was sure this wasn't over._

John walked me back to the house and quickly brought me to my room before he went to Stephanie and Paul's room to tell them we were home and to wish them good-night. He helped me to dress my wound in silence, putting a bandage where it was needed the most so that it looked like I had only suffered a minor scrape that I could easily pass off as clumsiness. When he finished, I said, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I shouldn't have let him get to you in the first place," John stated morosely.

"It's not like you knew he was coming. You shouldn't take it so hard, John," I told him.

He stood up to pace the room, saying, "I wasn't completely honest with you, before. I do know there are others like me, and Dean is one of them. He's fast...really fast."

I was less surprised than I thought I would be. I asked quickly, "So there are more of you? Where?"

"I can't tell you about everyone. We live in hiding. Some of us tried to use our abilities for good and it backfired. You can't tell anyone about this, Lita, I mean it," John said seriously.

He came to sit down next to me again and leaned in so that his eyes were locked with mine and he was inches from my face. I shook my head, saying, "I won't tell anyone. No one would believe me, anyway."

John lessened his intensity like he believed me, then he leaned forward and unexpectedly wrapped his lips around mine. It felt warm, and exciting, and it made my stomach churn like a thousand butterflies were being released inside of me. He held my lips for a long time before he let go. I smiled, asking, "What was that for?"

"I just didn't want you to spend your teenage years wondering what it was like to be kissed," he answered, then John got up and quietly left the room.


	6. Chapter 6

6:

I had nightmares about Dean coming after me. He kept trying to grab me so that he could run away and I would never see John again. Each time I would just barely get away from him, but he was always getting closer, and I knew it was only a matter of time before he had me.

Waking up with a start, I instantly saw something move in the darkness of my room. I opened my mouth to scream, but Daniel stepped into the light and put his hands out to stop me, saying, "It's me, Lita. Please don't scream."

Sighing heavily, I asked, "What are you doing here, Daniel?"

"I had a bad dream. Can I stay with you?" he asked, looking distraught.

I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. I patted my bed and answered, "Alright, but stay on top of the covers, okay?"

He nodded his head with glee and bounced into my bed like a little boy on a sugar rush. I let him settle beside me, and he fell asleep long before I did. I wasn't sure I would ever get any shut eye until my alarm woke me up the next morning. Exhausted from too-little sleep, I slammed the button to turn it off and it took a huge amount of effort to sit up.

Daniel quickly popped up next to me and asked, "You ready for school?"

He must be a morning person. I, unfortunately for school schedules, was not.

My door suddenly burst open and in walked Ziggler wearing only a towel around his lower half. He was remarkably more good looking than I had given him credit for, and seeing him water drenched and tough looking added to his physique. Despite his looks, however, I was shocked to see him rushing into my room, so I asked, "What are you doing?"

He pointed at Daniel and shouted, "What is he doing in here?"

Daniel cowered in my bed like a puppy being scolded for leaving mess on the carpet. I quickly explained, "He had a bad dream and I let him stay with me so he could sleep, that's all."

Ziggler looked at me and then at Daniel while he pondered my story. He took on a calmer look like he had believed me, and replied more coolly, "Well, he's not supposed to be in anyone else's room but his own. Danny, you should have woken me up if you were scared."

Daniel nodded and Ziggler motioned for him to get out of my bed. Daniel made a speedy exit, but Ziggler seemed unwilling to leave me just yet. Instead, he looked me over as I stepped out of bed, and I felt a pang of discomfort come over me. I asked, "What?"

"Did anyone ever tell you that you look beautiful in the morning?" Ziggler proclaimed with a huge grin.

_Okay...that wasn't super strange._

I played it off with a short scoff, saying, "I don't think I've ever heard that."

He leaned forward and added, "No really, I mean it. Some girls look like trolls in the morning, but you sure don't."

"Oh...uh...thanks, I guess," I smiled.

Ziggler stared at me for a few seconds longer, then he finally turned to leave. By the time the door closed, I was so uncomfortable, I felt like I had to take a shower to wash off all the dirty suggestions he was giving me with his eyes.

* * *

Stephanie had to take Daniel to a doctor's appointment, so it was just John and I alone together on the walk to school. He noticed my stand-offish attitude and asked, "What's going on? You seem really quiet."

I shrugged and replied, "I don't know. Ziggler was in my room this morning yelling at Daniel for staying the night with me, then he started being all nice and after Daniel left. Ziggler stayed for a minute to tell me I look beautiful in the morning."

John listened intently, then he became serious, asking, "Did he try anything with you?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I mean, he was wearing just a towel, but he didn't try to grab me or anything," I explained.

John suddenly took my arm and pulled me into a thicket near the sidewalk. I pulled away from him and asked, "What are you doing?"

He put up his hands to show he meant well and said, "Look, I know we're not really official yet, but I would like to be. Will you be my girlfriend, Lita?"

I was shocked. I was always the girl equals friend, and no one had ever outright asked me to be the girl plus friend before. I laughed uneasily and replied, "Do you have a problem with us being adopted by the same parents? I mean, does that make this like, against the rules?"

He smiled wryly and answered, "We're not biologically related, and we're both leaving to be out on our own in a year or so. I think we're safe."

I was still a little anxious, so John added, "If Ziggler and Nikki can do it, so can we."

Blushing crimson, I looked away. John tried to save face as he stammered, "I mean...not that I was thinking that...you know, doing it...just in the future...or never, if that's what you want..."

"Yes," I said.

"Really?" he regained his composure quickly.

"Yeah, I want to be your girlfriend," I smiled.

John became serious again and explained, "I just want you to know that I'll do my best to answer all your questions and tell you where I'm going, but sometimes there will be things I just can't tell you about, and I want you to be okay with that."

"Okay, I can deal with that," I nodded, and John leaned in to happily kiss me.

* * *

A few days later, I was outside enjoying the sun in a patio chair while reading a magazine, when Nikki came outside and walked very deliberately my way. I braced myself as she sat conveniently close to me and stated boldly, "So I hear you and Ziggler are more than friends now."

I was so blown away, all I could do was shout loudly, "What?"

"He's mine! Stay away from him!" Nikki screamed, standing up so she could tower over me.

"Ziggler and I aren't together! I don't know what he told you but I don't even like him that much!" I argued, standing up as well.

Nikki grabbed the magazine out of my hands and tore it in half with one violent pull. I was surprised at her strength, and even more surprised when she tossed the magazine aside and continued shouting, "Stay away from him! If you don't, you'll be sorry!"

Was she for real? I had spoken but two words to Ziggler since his weirdness in my room several days before, and I had been spending way more time with John, my current boyfriend, but apparently Nikki's signals were mixed...or her wires were loose.

She reached out for me just as John and Daniel appeared from the side door. They were both carrying fishing poles and John had a short sleeved shirt unbuttoned and opened to reveal his super attractive physique. Nikki recoiled as soon as she saw the two of them, and John grew serious when he saw us. I mouthed to him quickly, "Help me."

He took on a calmer expression and asked, "Hey, you two wanna go fishing with us?"

"Really? You never want to take me!" Nikki's mood swung faster than her hips as she jogged over to John like he was her Godsend.

"I can teach you how to fish, Lita," Daniel held up his pole and looked at me eagerly.

We walked mostly in silence to the river a half hour from home, except for Nikki, who followed John like a puppy eager to please. She glared back at me from time to time, but I tried to keep myself busy by fixating on the things around me: Rocks...trees...a stick. _Damn nature couldn't be more appealing when I needed it to be._

Since Nikki was glued to John, I stayed with Daniel, helping him to bait his line and cast it into the river. We sat together and he told me about the people he liked and didn't like in school, and why he had made each choice. I enjoyed being with him because Daniel was so simplified. The boy never freaked out and made false accusations with added threat of violence. Who couldn't love that?

I watched Nikki from afar, not feeling threatened by her insistence with John. He let her play him for a while, but when she got too close, he would back her off calmly. I could tell that she was becoming disheartened by his lack of advancement, and after an hour of effort, she finally leaned into his ear and whispered something that made his expression harden significantly. John shook his head and pushed Nikki away more forcefully than before, and she got up and stormed off into the thick brush nearby.

Getting up as well, I told Daniel and John, "I'm going to the bathroom," but I gave John a more knowing look before I left, wordlessly letting him know I was going to find Nikki and bring her back.

I shuffled through the thicket, the tall grass scratching my legs as I searched for Nikki under the mid-day heat. I finally caught sight of her leaning against a tree, but when I came up to her, she whirled around and shouted, "What? What do you want now?"

"I just wanted to make sure you're alright," I mentioned, but Nikki ignored me and stated, "I'm going home."

She began walking back toward the house, and I tried to reason with her, saying, "Let me just go back and tell John where we're going, and then I'll walk with you."

"You're such an ass kisser, Lita! Who cares about John! I'm going home!"

I rushed after her, not wanting to leave Nikki alone in a wooded thicket where she could easily disappear and never be seen again. Just as I was thinking that, she rounded a tree and left my sight.

"Nikki, wait!" I shouted, but another figure appeared out of the corner of my eye.

I turned and saw Dean standing there, staring me down like I was someone to be despised. I noticed some severe burn marks around his neck and collar, most of the damage covered by a gray t-shirt. He moved up to me with speed faster than I could blink and pinned me up against a nearby tree. I murmured to him helplessly, "Please don't hurt me."

He took my chin in his hand so I couldn't look away from him. His cold eyes stared into my gaze as he said in a husky tone, "I want to talk to John."

I nodded, swallowing the lumps building up in my throat so I didn't seem so terrified. He continued, adding, "Tell him if he doesn't see me tonight, I'm going to hurt you."

Letting out a short gasp, I nodded again, and Dean let go of me. He turned and ran off in a gust of wind, leaving me alone in the thicket. I slowly detached myself from the tree and made my way back to John and Daniel, finding them near the river just as they were when I left. John immediately stood up and asked when he saw me, "What's wrong?"

I tried to speak quietly so Daniel didn't overhear, "Dean was here. He told me to tell you he wants to see you, and if you don't come, he's going to hurt me."

John took me into his arms and ran his fingers through my hair, telling me soothingly, "Don't worry, everything is alright now. He can't hurt you."

I lifted my head to look at him better, and John leaned down to touch my lips to his. I had never really felt the urge to be near somebody before, much less to want to be physically joined with them like those funny looking artist's renderings of sex between a man and a woman that teachers would show the class for educational purposes, but at that moment, I imagined it was John and I in the pictures, and that made my heart skip several delighted beats.

"I caught one!" Daniel shouted gleefully, breaking John and I apart.

Daniel pulled on his line and a medium sized fish struggled at its end. John went over to help him, but cast me one last longing look before he tended to other things. I couldn't help but wonder if he had imagined us together in his mind as well.

* * *

That night, I waited in my room anxiously until John came up to kiss me good-bye. He explained quietly, "Don't tell anyone that I left. If I'm not here by morning, don't worry about me, just go on about your day. I'll think of an excuse when I get back."

"Be careful, John," I warned him, and he nodded, giving me one last kiss before he climbed out my window and took off out of sight.

I lay in bed and tried not to think of John, but my mind kept wandering toward thoughts of what was happening to him. Had Dean ambushed him? Was he winning the fight? Were they just exchanging some harsh words? Would John be back in one piece tomorrow, or would he be battered? What was really going on between those two?

Although John had warned me that some of my questions wouldn't be answered, and I had agreed to his terms, I was beginning to feel stupid that I had ever granted such a request.

I closed my eyes to think of John, and at some point, I fell asleep, because I was startled awake when I felt something cold wrap around my left wrist. I opened my eyes and saw a figure standing above me, fastening something to my bed post. A glint of moonlight bounced off my wrist when I tried to move it, and I realized groggily that someone had just handcuffed me to my own bed.

My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to scream, but Ziggler's face became more clear as he leaned in and covered my mouth with his palm. I was only wearing a t-shirt and a pair of panties, and he was wearing nothing but boxer shorts. This was quickly becoming a very predictable nightmare.

"Don't scream, or I'll make this much worse on you," Ziggler warned.

I didn't know what else to do but nod shortly. He kept his right hand over my mouth while he easily pulled my underwear off with his left hand and settled on top of me. He spoke to me calmly, like he were trying to soothe me as he said, "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to do anything kinky. This will be fun. Don't get too excited. I'll go slow and easy, no harm done."

_Was he seriously making this okay? This was so not okay!_

I struggled, but barely managed a few subtle movements before Ziggler had me pinned down so tightly, I didn't dare move again for fear he would cut off my oxygen supply. He brushed my hair away from my face and smiled at me as if he had no clue that he was about to commit a devious and horrible crime. I looked away from him, too distraught to comprehend what was happening to me, and I saw two figures near my bedroom door.

One was Daniel in jeans and a t-shirt, the other was wearing a ski mask and dressed from head to toe in clothing, but he had sock puppets on his hands, and I had to assume it was Randy.

Ziggler hadn't noticed them yet, and he was reaching down to himself with his free hand. I looked pleadingly at Daniel as he came near, then he reached down and grabbed Ziggler by the shoulders.

Daniel's hands were miniscule compared to Ziggler's huge frame, but somehow he pulled Ziggler up with the ease of a man twice his size. Daniel then shoved Ziggler with what looked like little effort, but Ziggler went flying across the room and landed with a loud thud against the wall, his head impacting violently before he passed out and slid to the ground. Daniel turned to face me with his usual kind smile, but after watching what he had just done, I cried pleadingly, "Please don't hurt me, Daniel!"

"I don't want to hurt you, Lita," Daniel told me solemnly, taking the chain from the handcuffs and tugging on it lightly. Amazingly, the latch around the bedpost broke off, and I was free.

Daniel splayed his arms for me and said in his usual sweet tone, "I have to hug you so Randy can take us to John."

I was so shocked, I did as I was told without argument. Daniel easily picked me up and held me in his arms, and I wrapped my entire body around him like he was the only structure I had left to hold onto. Randy walked up to us, then he pulled off his sock puppet and took hold of my arm with his bare hand.

The world swirled out of view, and I closed my eyes to keep my stomach from lurching out of control. There was a rush all around me, like being on a merry-go-round that was going too fast for far too long, and then suddenly, it all stopped.

I opened my eyes and saw an old warehouse in front of us. How we had gotten there and where we were exactly, I couldn't have even guessed. Randy put his sock puppet back on and knocked on the warehouse door three times, then two more times after a second of silence. Daniel continued to hold onto me as Randy opened the door and we walked inside. Most of the warehouse was shrouded in darkness, except for a series of lights in its center. There were tables, computers, and all sorts of scientific odds and ends strewn about under the light, including a gurney where a Latino boy was sitting with sensors pressed against his head and chest. There were two other dark haired teenagers, probably twins, dressed in similar blue clothing with similar pairs of glasses observing the computers near the Latino boy. John was standing across from the twins working on a project alone when he looked up and saw us. I glanced over and saw Dean lying on the ground near us with his arms and legs wrapped in chains. He was conscious, but he had a small gash in his forehead and he looked exhausted.

"What are you doing here with her?" John demanded, leaving his project to confront us.

Dean called out non-discreetly, "I don't know, but she's not wearing any underwear!"

Daniel moved back so that we were facing away from Dean, then John stopped in front of us and asked again, "Why is she here?"

Daniel started to put me down as he explained, "Randy and I were going to leave, but Ziggler was gone and we heard his voice in Lita's room..."

The feeling of Daniel letting me go made me suddenly launch into a fit of panic. I clutched him desperately and shouted, "No! No! Don't put me down! Don't put me down!"

I was holding on to him with all my might, but it didn't appear to affect him much and he held onto me easily. Daniel patted my back and John came up more closely to me, his eyes falling on the part of the handcuffs that were still latched to my left wrist.

"Let's take her to the back room and let her rest," he said, his voice choked with emotion.

John led the way and Daniel followed. The strangers in the room's center watched me leave with concerned expressions. A hallway and two doorways later, I was in a small well kept room with a twin sized bed and a warm blanket. Daniel gently put me into the bed, and somehow I felt safe enough to let go of him. John instructed him to help the others, and Daniel left the room. I curled up in the fetal position, and John sat down beside me and stroked my hair, saying, "We'll figure this out in the morning. I'll make sure no one touches you, alright?"

I didn't know what to say. I had forgotten how to speak. John held out his hand and produced a small flame the size of a candle that danced along the inside of his palm. I became entranced by it, watching the yellow and orange wing of light until I closed my eyes and drifted into a deep and dreamless sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

7:

I woke up feeling like I had barely slept at all. My body felt heavy and the room I was in held no light to tell me if it the sun had come up yet or not. I noticed when I sat up that my arms were sore from where Ziggler had held me down, but the partial handcuff that was latched to my wrist before was gone. I wandered to the door to find my way back to John, and when I opened it slightly, I immediately caught sight of him in the hallway. He was standing with the Latino boy from last night, and they were immersed in a heated argument.

"She shouldn't be here! This is a private place for people like us!" the Latino boy said in a strong tone.

It was obvious that he was talking about me. I noticed the boy was shorter than John, and he had a lean but athletic build. He was really handsome, probably in his late teens, but the dirty look on his face and his insistent voice made me feel uneasy about him.

John shot back in my defense, "Daniel and Randy were just helping her! She could have been raped!"

When he said, "raped," he looked away and clenched his fists. A flash of what John had done to Dean to defend me a few nights before went through my mind, and I wondered what John would do if he were faced with Ziggler anytime soon.

Latino Boy sighed and like he was at least attempting sympathy for me, but he continued to remain short-sighted, saying, "It's restricted here, John. Regulars don't understand us and they never will. She doesn't belong."

"What? You want me to just throw her out?" John remarked angrily.

Quickly shaking his head, Latino Boy seemed to want me gone but had no clue where to send me. It made me feel like the scum of average people and I wanted to crawl back into bed and forget about seeing the world today, but Daniel suddenly appeared in the door frame holding a pair of clothes and he pushed it open. He took my wide-eyed surprise as a sign that I was awake and ready to see him as he said delightedly, "Good morning, Lita!"

John and Latino Boy stopped their conversation and turned to face me. I took the clothes Daniel was handing to me and let him explain, "I got these clothes from the house for you. I hope they're right. You can come out and see us when you're ready. I have food and stuff to show you. Wanna see the lab computer? I don't get to touch it, but maybe you can."

Appearing next to Daniel, John tugged on his shoulder and glanced at me while he said, "Come on, Danny. Give Lita some time to get ready and then you can talk to her all you want."

"Okay!" Daniel smiled, hopping back into the hallway like nothing could ever bring him down.

John glanced at me sympathetically once more before he closed the door. I was sure he was analyzing me to determine if I had overheard his conversation with Latino Boy. He didn't let the results show on his face before he went out of sight, and I slowly wandered the room until I found the adjacent bathroom, then I took my time getting dressed. I felt like the biggest upset since the confession that most reality shows are rigged with. If Latino Boy wanted me gone, what were those two big twin guys gonna think of me? I was the only one without powers, but I was the outcast, here.

I couldn't help thinking over a way that I could fake a power, like tell them all I could read the minds of celebrities only. To make matters worse, Daniel had brought some clothes that Stephanie and Paul had bought for me when I came to live with them: a long pastel pink skirt and a small white blouse. The skirt was low enough to show off a good portion of my middle, and the colors made me look like a bubble gum chewing airhead tween.

_Great. Now they were really going to respect me._

I walked back down the hallway and entered the main room to find most of the guys seated in a circle debating with one another. Daniel and Randy weren't with them, and Dean was still chained to a pole near the main door, but instead of lying on the floor like before, he was sitting on an old antique red couch that looked like it was dumped after being filmed as a crime scene prop. Dean didn't hesitate to show an eager interest in me when I appeared, but I tried to keep my focus only on John. He looked over at me just as I stepped into a ray of sunlight, and the other guys turned to face me as well.

They all had looks of awe on their faces. It must've been one of those moments when a girl does something innocent and looks completely beautiful, but instead of smiling and blushing and taking in the moment of having all eyes on me, I became overwhelmed with attention and tried to cover my exposed abdomen, suddenly feeling insecure.

"Geronimo!" Daniel called from above me.

I looked up just as he jumped off of a beam twenty feet above. He collided with the ground next to me, but instead of hearing the snap of his legs breaking, I heard a sound like lead hitting pavement, and the cement floor of the warehouse crumbled where Daniel had landed. He flinched and made his way back to his feet, saying like it was no big deal, "Ow. That hurt a little bit."

I was totally shocked. Daniel had just dropped to the ground with nothing to protect him, and he had not only survived unscathed, but he only showed minor discomfort. I asked with an awe-struck voice, "Daniel, how did you do that?!"

He shrugged and answered simply, "I dunno."

Then he ran back behind me and slammed himself through the steel warehouse wall. John shouted at him with the agitation of someone who had seen these antics before, "Damn it, Danny, don't destroy anymore stuff! We can't relocate for a while!"

"Okay! Guess what? I found some jerky!" Daniel held up a white unopened bag of goods from the hole in the wall where he had just gone through.

I looked back at John and he motioned for me to sit next to him. I did as he instructed, trying to do my best not to look at Latino Boy, but I could already feel his heated glare watching my every move. After I took my seat, John looked me over as if inspecting me again, then he pointed to the group members and explained, "These are the twins, Jey and Jimmy Uso. They have some choice abilities that only work when they're together. I think they can move objects and possibly read minds, but we're working on testing some other theories. I think they have a lot of potential, but like I said, when they're apart, the powers don't work, so we're trying to find a way to have them communicate long range."

I waved, and both Jey and Jimmy nodded at me with big white smiles. They looked very serious, but not unhappy to see me. I couldn't tell if they were just putting on a face for me or not. They both looked so alike, I wasn't sure which one was which.

"Randy, as you already know, can transport people to other places by touching them. He can transport faster by himself. He hasn't been able to touch anyone without using his power, so we're working on a solution. Maybe someday, he can shake hands with someone. He's in the broken freezer over there."

John pointed across the way near one of the computers, where a freezer top opened and Randy's dog puppet stuck his head out to nod at me before the freezer top closed again and he was out of sight.

I turned back to him and John continued, pointing at Latino Boy as he explained, "This is Epico. He can..."

Epico cut him off, saying coldly, "I didn't give you permission to tell her what my power is, did I?!"

Epico narrowed his eyes at me to make his point, but John was completely undaunted, continuing sarcastically, "Epico's secondary power is secret, but his primary power is the ability to be a full-time asshole no matter what the circumstance."

"I don't need this!" Epico shot up in his chair to leave the room.

John continued to tease him, saying, "Fine, go cry to your mother."

Epico stormed back to us and readied his fist. John got up and started a flame in his palm, then launched it into Epico's face just as Epico got close. I gasped and sat back as Epico fell back into his chair and grunted in pain. He was facing away so I couldn't see the damage, then he turned and looked at John with surprise. The left side of Epico's face was badly burned and his cheekbone was exposed, but I watched in complete shock as the skin and muscle renewed itself and within seconds, Epico's face looked like he hadn't been injured at all.

He was still flinching like the pain had not been canceled out by his recovery as Epico countered to John, "You did that on purpose so she could see my power!"

"So what?" John shrugged, sitting back down again.

"Cool," I muttered.

Epico looked at me like he was surprised that I wasn't freaking out, then he quickly re-booted his bad mood mode and looked away. John continued his formal introductions, explaining to me, "I obviously produce fire in my hands, and Daniel..."

"You forgot me, Johnny! Doesn't she want to know what I do?" Dean rudely interrupted.

This time, John was daunted, clenching his fists as he remarked angrily, "She already knows what you do, Dean, so shut the hell up!"

Dean scoffed and John continued, trying to stay calm as he finished, "Daniel has inhuman strength. I don't know if it's something in his muscles or some kind of a hormonal thing. He didn't always have it, it developed over time like Epico's power. I'm working on a system to keep Daniel's power from overwhelming him. I want him to still be able to interact with people of average strength without hurting them."

Daniel jumped into the group just as John finished and asked me, "You wanna see my muscles?"

"Okay," I said, standing up.

"Hold this!" Daniel handed me the bag of jerky.

I took the bag and held onto it while Daniel unzipped his hooded sweatshirt and pulled it down to his forearms so I could see his upper body. Daniel let out a yelp of confidence, making Epico scoff loudly, but I was too amazed to say a word.

His muscle form was more perfect than a comic book superhero.

"Daniel, you look better than most of the world's strongest athletes. Doesn't anyone notice how different you are?" I asked curiously.

Daniel shrugged, taking a piece of jerky from the bag I was holding as he replied easily, "No one cares about me. Even if they do, I don't have the grades to be in sports, and everyone else just thinks I'm simple."

"Well, I don't think you're simple," I mentioned.

He brightened like a dawning sun as he shouted, "Really? Awesome!"

* * *

I was still holding onto the jerky and munching from it while the guys worked on another project. Daniel had brought in a steel tank and Epico was filling it with water from a hose he had rigged through the wall. I was trying to stay out of their way while they worked, but the only place that was off to one side was the antique couch with Dean. I sat as far away from him as possible on the other end of the couch, but he was still too damn close.

"You know what they're doing?" Dean leaned toward me, trying to initiate conversation.

I shifted uneasily and answered, "No, I guess not."

_God, why did I answer this ass?!_

"They're going to fill up that tank, and your little Johnny-So-Hotty is gonna get in there and test his fire power. Guess what he has to do to test his power?"

"What?" I asked, knowing Dean was taunting me.

"He has to take off his clothes and get naked so the cloth doesn't burn off and catch something on fire. Since you're the first girl in the group, guess you'll have to hide your eyes."

I could feel my cheeks growing hot when I thought of John being naked. I looked away, but Dean already caught it. He laughed and remarked, "I can see Johnny-So-Hotty already got you burning, doesn't he?"

I tried feebly to cover my face while I got up and walked away from Dean. John looked up and saw me, so he walked over to me and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Dean is too weird, I can't sit next to him," I said.

John nodded and replied, "Okay, you can take a seat next to Randy's freezer. I'm going to test myself soon, but I wanted to warn you that I have to be naked to do it. You don't have to stay in the room if you don't want to."

I could feel myself blushing again. I asked, "Do you want me to leave?"

He smiled wryly and answered, "I'm not shy."

I smiled back and took my seat by Randy's freezer. The top popped open and the dog puppet poked his head out to greet me. I smiled and asked, "Jerky?"

He eagerly reached into the bag and pulled out some food. The freezer top slammed shut and some munching could be heard. I felt the need to say something as I asked, "Randy?"

The freezer popped open again and the dog puppet came out. Its googly eyes watched me with concern as I said, "Thank you for rescuing me last night."

The puppet twitched as if it were taken aback, then it leaned forward and bowed to me gracefully. I blushed and looked away, catching sight of John watching us from across the room. He gave me a sympathetic look from what he had overheard, then he turned to the guys and asked, "Are we ready?"

"Yeah," Epico surmised, bringing some pads over to attach to John's head.

John began removing his clothes, so I put my hands over my eyes, but I admit, I was totally peeking. He had his back to me, but I got a complete view of his backside, and I wasn't the least bit unsatisfied. He turned to the side to take some sensors from Epico before he got into the tank, and I got a partial view of John's front below the waist. I couldn't help smiling as my cheeks started to burn with naughty delight.

_I was a bad, bad girl._

Once he was in the tank, I could only see his upper half and a partial of his happy trail, but the tank blocked anything else. _Damn steel tank._

Daniel appeared from the other side of the room and rushed over to join me as I removed my hands from my eyes. He reached for more jerky and asked, "You ever see John's power full-scale before?"

"Nope," I shook my head.

"It's pretty amazing. You might have to shut your eyes if he tells you to, though. He can burn hot enough to blind someone close range," Daniel mentioned.

I widened my eyes and looked at John. He was trying not to smile as he looked back at me and began producing the fire in his hands. Epico and the twins were shouting things at him like, "Readings are steady," "A little more," and, "Try another angle."

Watching like an obsessed fan, I couldn't take my eyes away from the flames that he was producing. They grew from his hands to his arms, and then along his upper body, eventually consuming every part of him except for his lower half, which was submerged in the tank water. I was surprised that he could even breathe. I started to stand up after John had maintained the all over flame for more than thirty seconds, and my gut began to tell me that something was wrong. I glanced at Epico and the Usos, but they were at their computers, checking readings. I looked at Daniel, but he was intent on the show, unaware that John could be in trouble. I took a few more steps toward the tank, wondering why I felt so uneasy.

The flames rose up out of him and circled John in waves, flowing like gold-colored water. It was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. The tank water around John started to bubble and I could feel the heat radiating off of him. It was warm, then uncomfortably warm, the heat getting stronger and more brutal with each passing second. I imagined that this was what it would feel like to be continually heading towards the sun.

Suddenly, the flames sputtered out and quickly died. John's skin was steaming, but left unharmed; not a single hair out of place. He was looking right at me, and at first, he smiled. I asked him, "John, are you alright?"

"Shit," was all he said, then he passed out and fell back into the tank.


End file.
